Kuranosuke Shiraishi
Kuranosuke Shiraishi (白石蔵ノ介, Shiraishi Kuranosuke) is the Captain of Shitenhōji. He is heralded as having 'Perfect Tennis', and is referred to as 'The Bible of Shitenhōji'. His skills are so great that he was already playing at singles 1 when he was only in his second year, and his team that year gave the eventual repeat Champions Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku their toughest match of the entire tournament, when they met in the semi-finals. Personality He is first introduced when the representatives of every team that will compete at the National Tournament gathered. His personality and profile are shrouded in mystery, and very little detail is available on him as of the present. The biggest reason for this is that in the previous year, he had placed himself in the Singles 1 match against Rikkai Dai, and didn't get to play when Shitenhōji was swept. Though he's famous for having 'Perfect Tennis', Shiraishi himself believes that perfect tennis is silly. However when his team lost in the previous Nationals, Shiraishi realizes that no matter how you play, all that matters in the end is winning the match. As the captain of his team, he has to bring his team victory, even if he has to play using the skills he feels are boring. Shiraishi is often shown sporting white bandages on his arm. It is revealed that he wears a gold gauntlet that was given to him by Osamu underneath the bandages. Hes worn it since his freshmen year and has promised Osamu not to take it off till graduation but had to break that promise to keep the promise to Renji. Shiraishi is also known to be the only person who can placate or appease Kintarō Tōyama, the youngest and wildest member of their team. It is apparent in the manga that Kintarō has a very peculiar and strong imagination, and ever since he read a manga about monsters with poison claws, he's been irrationally and childishly (albeit seriously) afraid of Shiraishi. Under his bandages is a gold gauntlet it was revealed after Akaya Kirihara hit and ripped of his bandages. When the gauntlet is removed his speed sky-rockets. Information Regionals Shiraishi captained the Shitenhoji team as they cruised through the Kansai Regional Tournament and defeated Makinofuji in the final. Nationals Shiraishi engaged in a long even fought out match with Fuji Shusuke in the Semi-finals of the Nationals. U-17 Camp Shiraishi along with his Shitenhoji team mates was invited to the Japan U-17 Camp. He then pairs up with Oshitari Kenya as they both believe they will be teaming up as a doubles pair, Tennis Record U-17 Camp Results Tennis Styles and Techniques Shiraishi incorporates a style of tennis known as Perfect Tennis, which is a style that wastes no energy at all by producing no excess or unnecessary movement, achieving the best results with each shot with very little effort. This is due to Shiraishi mastering all the fundamentals and basics through hard work and gradually being able to shape his form to the point where he can perform strokes without mannerisms or habitual actions that can lessen the use of stamina, which has a great effect in his concentration, movements, stamina, and etc. Entaku Shot (Manga only) : The shot that inspired Kevin Smith's Illusion in the anime (which may explain why it was not shown in the OVA), Shiraishi hits a sidespin shot that causes the ball to fly in a ring formation until it hits the course without bouncing. However in the Nationals OVA Shiraishi uses the same stance for this move in his game against Fuji however the scene simply skips to Shiraishi gaining the point, making it unkown in the anime what the ball does after he uses that stance. Golden Gauntlet : Two years ago, his coach, Osamu Watanabe, gave Shiraishi a golden gauntlet for him to wear on his left arm and "instructed" (in other words, lightly suggested) Shiraishi to wear it until his graduation. To avoid attention, Shiraishi hid the golden gauntlet with bandages (and gave Kintaro the impression that under his bandages contained lethal poison). Since gold is 3 times heavier than lead and iron, and since Shiraishi can play normally even with the golden gauntlet on, when he takes the gauntlet off, his swing speed skyrockets compared to his normal strokes. Still, just because his arm speed increases does not mean that his lower body's speed does. Trivia *Father’s Occupation: pharmacist *At episode 20 in the OVA, his bible skills are also been acknowledged by the commentators, Kikumaru Eiji and Oshitari Yūshi, when Oshitari saw Shiraishi replacing the eaten yakiniku by the uncooked ones in an instant. *In Prince of Tennis Another Story, Shiraishi stated that their school gate is hard to get into. Since he suddenly jumped from behind Seigaku and said his favorite saying Ahhh...Ecstasy., making him hit his face at the top of the gate. *In The Prince of Tennis Musical, Shiraishi is portrayed by actors Harukawa Kyōsuke and by Yoshihide Sasaki. *He does not perform badly in any subject at school, and does particularly well in Chemistry. *Height: 178cm *Weight: 66kg *Favorite Brands: Shoes - DIADORA (Speed Zone PRO); Racket - MIZUNO (Wenew 900Ti *Blood Type: Type B *Hobbies: Chess, health exercises *Favorite Colors: Bright green *Favorite Foods: Cheese risotto *Favorite Movies: Korean movies *Favorite Book: Botanical books *Favorite Music: Trance *Favorite Type: One whose hair has the scent of shampoo *Favorite Date Spot: botanical garden *Things he doesn’t like: Girls who go out to hit on guys *Skills outside of Tennis: Identifying poisonous Plants Gallery Category:Characters Category:Tennis Player Category:Shitenhoji Tennis Club Member